Is it better to work out in a empty stomach?

Ok, I'm totally confused! I'm on the Abs diet for women. Is it better to work out on a empty stomach, or wait until you eat? Someone posted a tip that it's better to work out before you eat, but I read soomewhere that it's better to eat first. Any opionions from anyone would be great, and what works for them? I'm just starting a couple of weeks ago, and I want to do it right. Help!!

If you work out first thing in the morning you should definitely have something about 1/2 hour before to get your metabolism going, otherwise your body will go into starvation mode while you are working out, which defeats the purpose of exercising, which is to lose weight and get healthy.

If you work out later in the day it is also good to have something with some protein before you work out if you haven't eaten in a couple of hours. Not a lot of food, maybe a couple ounces of tuna or a piece of cheese. This has the same effect to get your metabolism going. You should replenish the protein and electrolytes after your workout, so even if you don't plan on having a full meal afterwords you should also eat something with protein and minerals.

Love the food that loves you back.Take it one day at a time!-----------------------------------------

you should be eating some kind of a starch before a workout so that you have something to burn off and your metabolism gets going... after your workout the first thing that your body craves for and needs is protein.. having some almonds or unsalted nuts would be good or any other source of a healthy protein hope that helps

I used to get up and run on an empty stomach . . . didn't matter how far I was to run. I've since learned from a personal trainer that you do need some food to fuel your body (helps with energy and metabolism as others have mentioned). He suggested 1/2 banana and a small glass of soy milk about 30 minutes before my workout. It works great and I don't feel it sloshing around in my stomach or feel full. Try it . . .

I was just reading this in the abs book (I think it was in the section that talked about whey protein)and he was saying you should drink a smoothie with the whey protein in it before working out for best results. I'll have to go back and try to find the page for you.

The general concensus that I've read up on (not just with Abs Diet) is pretty much what cabawi said. If you don't eat then you don't have the energy that you should have to do your workout meaning that your workouts suffer. Eat enough to give you some energy (like a protein shake so you have some carbs) but not anything big because I'm sure it will end up coming out if you know what I mean.

Found it! In the Abs Diet For Women on page 106-107 it talks about Whey powder. It says "smoothies with some whey powder can be most effective before a workout." It goes on to site a study about people who "drank shakes containing amino acids & carbs before working out increased their protein synthesis (ability to build muscle) more than those who drank the shake after exercising."

go to My Fatsecret above, then in right hand column click on My Weight History, and in there on down right you should seeMy Diet with 6 options listed below that, there you can choose what you want to ...